Jesus Was Not Born On December 25th But Many Pagan Gods Were

Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th? Most people assume that it has always been a Christian holiday and that it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus.  

It turns out that Jesus was not born on December 25th.

Pagans celebrated a festival involving a heroic supernatural figure that visits an evergreen tree and leaves gifts on December 25th long before Jesus was ever born.

The truth is that thousands of years before there was a "Santa Claus", there was another supernatural figure who would supposedly visit a tree and leave gifts every December 25th.

His name was Nimrod.

After Nimrod's death (2167 BC), Semiramis promoted the belief that he was a god. She claimed that she saw a full-grown evergreen tree spring out of the roots of a dead tree stump, symbolizing the springing forth of new life for Nimrod. 

On the anniversary of his birth, she said, Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts under it.

Nimrod was so evil, it is said he married his own mother, whose name was Semiramis. 

After Nimrod's untimely death, his so called mother/wife, Semiramis, propagated the evil doctrine of the survival of Nimrod as a spirit being.

She claimed a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead tree stump, which symbolized the springing forth unto new life of the dead Nimrod. 

On each anniversary of his birth, she claimed, Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. December 25th was the birthday of Nimrod.

So when you offer gifts or greetings on the 25th of december you are actually acknowlaging Nimrods birthday... probably why many people don't celebrate Christmas.

source
bibletools.org...

This is a question that has nagged at me as well.

I am sure you are familiar with the 3 Wise Men. But let me ask you this question. Are you familiar with the tradition of celebrating the day of the 3 Wise Men on Jan. 6 (I believe)? Now, if they (the 3 Wise Men) presented their gifts to Jesus on Dec. 25, then why are they celebrated on Jan. 6?

It's a tradition that my family has always followed, but I never got an answer for my question.

If people ask me what religion i am, i joke and say pagan. Not because i'm actually a pagan but because secretly we all are. All the holidays we celebrate - Christmas, Easter, Halloween, thanksgiving in US - all have pagan roots. A lot of the symbolism around us pays homage to pagan gods and godesses.

We might as well come out of the closet and just admit we're really all pagan.

the evergreen tree story connected to nimrod may also be the cedar tree isis found osiris' dead body in on byblos. (hint: nimrod is just a title, not his real name. he had a bunch of titles. he migrated to egypt. his mother was egyptian. he became narmer. he was known as enmerkar in akkad (mesopotamia).

reply to post by Nammu


Speak for yourself. Not everyone in the world is Christian. Not even every Christian celebrates the blasphemous pagan holidays (many see through the lies). But there are other religions, you know. Maybe your world view could use a little enlightening.

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As for the OP, I agree. There are actually biblical evidences that Jesus was not born on Dec. 25th. This website gives a pretty good explanation of it.
www.beyondtoday.tv...

First, we know that shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7-8). Shepherds were not in the fields during December. According to Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays, Luke's account "suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night" (Robert Myers, 1972, p. 309).

Similarly, The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary (1980) says this passage "would argue against the birth's occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted" shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night.

Second, Jesus' parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke 2:1-4). Such censuses were not taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating.

Given the difficulties and the desire to bring pagans into Christianity, William Walsh says, "The important fact then which I have asked you to get clearly into your head is that the fixing of the date as December 25th was a compromise with paganism" (The Story of Santa Klaus, 1970, p. 62).

If Jesus Christ was not born on December 25, does the Bible indicate when He was born? The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus' birth, based on the conception and birth of John the Baptist.

Since Elizabeth (John's mother) was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:24-36), we can determine the approximate time of year Jesus was born if we know when John was born. John's father, Zacharias, was a priest serving in the Jerusalem temple during the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5). Historical calculations indicate this course of service corresponded to June 13-19 in that year (E.W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, 1974, Appendix 179, p. 200).

It was during this time of temple service that Zacharias learned that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a child (Luke 1:8-13). After he completed his service and traveled home, Elizabeth conceived (verses 23-24). Assuming John's conception took place near the end of June, adding nine months brings us to the end of March as the most likely time for John's birth. Adding another six months (the difference in ages between John and Jesus) brings us to the end of September as the likely time of Jesus' birth.

And as a further note.. Just because the dates got switched to make pagans tempted to convert in Rome doesn't mean that Jesus was a pagan fabrication, or didn't exist. May peace be upon him.

The Dec. 25th date not only correlated with Nimrod or whatever, but also fit well with the winter solstice.. which is a very important date to pagans.



[edit on 3-2-2010 by seattletruth]

For more information, this topic has been reviewed before on many places in ATS:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.belowtopsecret.com...

So the rumor I had heard about Jesus being born on September 11th may be true after all ? Is there some sort of connection there with the 9/11 attacks?

Good post s&f

reply to post by SuperSlovak

You might be interested in this site...
...it examines the evidence for the date and circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ.

www.bethlehemstar.net...

Originally posted by Nammu
If people ask me what religion i am, i joke and say pagan. Not because i'm actually a pagan but because secretly we all are. All the holidays we celebrate - Christmas, Easter, Halloween, thanksgiving in US - all have pagan roots. A lot of the symbolism around us pays homage to pagan gods and godesses.

We might as well come out of the closet and just admit we're really all pagan.

It is quite common knowledge that many Christian holidays align with older pagan ones. The logic that it was easier to turn pagans into Christians by mixing the dates together is a good one and worked. People though, and mostly atheist, put a lot of focus on dates, but is it not what is actually worshipped in church on those days what really counts? Many of our Christian holidays have other traditions attached too, and they are not worshipped either in church on those days.

If one actually goes to Church on Christmas or Easter etc. you do not see people praying to Santa, Easter Bunny, trees, eggs, or passing massive number of gifts etc. So though dates might be aligned the message is rather different.

Originally posted by seattletruth
reply to post by Nammu

 

Speak for yourself. Not everyone in the world is Christian. Not even every Christian celebrates the blasphemous pagan holidays (many see through the lies). But there are other religions, you know. Maybe your world view could use a little enlightening.

No need to be cheeky!

Did i mention anything about Christians???? No, i mentioned the holidays we celebrate (i.e the majority people in the country i live in) like Christmas, Easter and Halloween, you know the common ones, have pagan roots.

Perhaps your world views could use a little enlightening in the fact that you shouldn't jump to conclusions about people and their knowledge from one comment on an internet message board.

I can't see how my post created such a knee jerk reaction from you assuming i know nothing of other religions. Care to explain??

Edit to add - It's ok. Don't answer. I've re-read your post and you were offended because i said 'we're all pagan' and that somehow offends you. Well, not 'somehow' because you must be christian if paganism offends you. It offends all christians but i've never figured out why. You can imagine the look on my catholic mother's face when i proclaimed me and my boyfriend weren't getting married but had decided on a hand-fasting instead

[edit on 3-2-2010 by Nammu]

reply to post by Xtrozero


It's not just Christian holidays. Hindu, Islamic and Jewish holidays also align with old pagan celebrations and dieties. They all go back to movements of the sun, moon, harvest etc.

Mixing dates was a really common way to convert people to your new religion as well as graying the areas around the subject of worship to make them similar. That's why i personally believe in understanding all religions and following none of them. It's difficult to pin point in any of them what is genuine and what is taken from older religions.

If one actually goes to Church on Christmas or Easter etc. you do not see people praying to Santa, Easter Bunny, trees, eggs, or passing massive number of gifts etc. So though dates might be aligned the message is rather different.

You make a good point here. The religious and personal celebration of these holidays is very different. You don't hear talk of bunnies and eggs in Easter mass. So i think although the dates were hijacked, religious institutions tried to keep the pagan elements separate but the people themselves carried on the pagan elements (painting eggs, rolling them down hills, easter rabbits, hot cross buns).

I can remember asking my mum why we rolled eggs down hills at Easter and she told me it was to signify the stone rolling away from Jesus' tomb. Majority of people are oblivious to the true meaning behind this.

Originally posted by divinetragedy79
This is a question that has nagged at me as well.

I am sure you are familiar with the 3 Wise Men. But let me ask you this question. Are you familiar with the tradition of celebrating the day of the 3 Wise Men on Jan. 6 (I believe)? Now, if they (the 3 Wise Men) presented their gifts to Jesus on Dec. 25, then why are they celebrated on Jan. 6?

It's a tradition that my family has always followed, but I never got an answer for my question.

The book of Matthew contains the only reference to the "3 wise men". Nowhere in the account does it say how many of these magi there were. Also, the account places these visitors at a later time, after Jesus was no longer considerd a baby, but a child and he was living in a house, not wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger.

As for why the celebration on Jan. 6th? I suppose that is lost to history.

old news Jesus's birth day isn't the 25th of December....and????

Easter name is ester pagan goddess....

Passover is at the same time as we celebrate modern easter and that is when Jesus died...so no drams there.
Hanukkah is celebrated around the same time as we celebrate Christmas...so no dramas there.

Hanukkah, Hanukah, Chanukah the eight-day Jewish festival of lights beginning on the 25th of Kislev and commemorating the rededication of the temple

I have often celebrated my birthday on a day I wasn't born....to fit in with life and the current day schedules....does that mean I dont exist?



[edit on 3-2-2010 by 297GT]

another thing that always bugs me is why non-Christians bother to celebrate the birth of my God's son, and in turn have a free holiday...same goes for Easter.

Hay stop budging and get back to work, you dont deserve the day off at these times, it means nothing to you.

Also stop getting married, its a biblical concept.....!

Originally posted by 297GT
another thing that always bugs me is why non-Christians bother to celebrate the birth of my God's son, and in turn have a free holiday...same goes for Easter.

Hay stop budging and get back to work, you dont deserve the day off at these times, it means nothing to you.

Also stop getting married, its a biblical concept.....!

LOL.. I like this post.

Ok, so I am pagan. I do not celebrate Christ-mass. I celebrate Yule. Although I call it Christmas for the sake of convenience here in the US bible belt.

Easter I celebrate for what it was originally -- a fertility rite and a welcoming of the birth and growth part of the annual cycle. This celebration implies the hieght of spring-time and the germination fo crops, etc.

As for marriage, I could not agree more. Marriage is 100% religious. It should not be a controller by our government, nor condoned or condemed by it. Every marriage should be immediately converted on the books into a civil union. Leave the marriage and hand-fasting ceremonies to the churches.

Where Pagan/Hindu religions were of a cosmic idealist nature, meaning that they recognized physical suffering in the world as something to be overcome by "transcendence" or recognition of a higher Idea or organizing principle, neo-Judaism posited that the only higher Idea was better treatment of our material selves -- individuals. As such, it became radically popular and today is one of the world's leading religions, responsible for wars, the burning of libraries, the killing of heretics, and passive legal action against all those who disagree with its denial of the inherent logic of the physical world.

Originally posted by 297GT
another thing that always bugs me is why non-Christians bother to celebrate the birth of my God's son, and in turn have a free holiday...same goes for Easter.

Well I'm a Hindu and well, living in UK, Easter is a national holiday. I don't really celebrate it...the country does. Countries have been influenced by the Western and maybe that could be a possible reason why they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ?

[edit on 3/2/2010 by BlackPoison94]

okay people "pagan" is a blanket term that was used to define all non abrahamic religions. So saying the pagans did this or that is about as accurate as saying the western hemisphere had a party on tuesday.

Pagan is a word describing religion, not a religion itself. However, "Pagans" don't realize this and go on to claim things that have all the individualism of saying "I'm polytheistic."
source: æ

[edit on 3-2-2010 by zaiger]

Many Messianic Jews of the 1st century in Palestine used SOLAR REFERENCES (i.e. to the Birth of the Sun/Sun-god) to express their beliefs about the coming Messiah (at least to judge from the Dead Sea Scroll fragments and the Infancy Narratives ‘of the Lord Iesous’ in the 1st and 3rd Canonical Greek Gospel material ----whoever actually wrote them—being clearly derived from Hebrew Midrashic source material (e.g. Is. 7:14) in the Hebrew writings..

These Midrashic Legends (see Luke chapters 1-2 and the opening of Matthew's gospel narratives) were often embellished in semiRabinnic fasion using 'Aramaic Targum additions or re-wordings' [or from really bad Greek translations of ssome very weird and sundry Hebrew Vorlagen underlays]—and even taken from texts that were later deemed non-canonical !) seem to have used clear SOLAR references and adapted solar-pagan hymns (especially Egyptian psalms and spells) for their long awaited Messiah-Saviour to drive out the hated Roman Occupation

This Messianic Hope was an age old practice covering several centuries of writing (especially in Occupied Palestine) was generated centuries earlier under the brutal Babylonian Exile and Judaean Occupation as well as under the later Persian and Greek successive Occupations) so tracing these SOLAR MESSIANIC-HOPE REFERENCES, we can see why December 25th was eventually chosen to represent the birth-date of the Messiah

Especially since early Christianity (as the newcomer on the block in the Roman Empire who had more than 100 'saviour' cults just like it) had to compete with the Mystery religions e.g. Mithras, whose birth-date was also SOLAR in nature, i.e. 25 December each year ‘the date when the shadows ‘were seen to be getting longer on the Dial’ i.e. when it was noticed that the Days were beginning to lengthn , i.e. growing up gradually each day on the dial like a child...

For some of these solar-messianic reference source material in the Hebrew Underlay (Vorlagen) to the mangled Koine Greek of the (4) canonical Greek Gospels, see: e.g. the Scroll of the Book of the ‘prophet’ Malachi (written by the same hand who produced PseudoZechariah, chapters 9-12) e.g. Mal. 4 - adapted from a Hymn to Osiris

'And in that Day shall ARISE the SUN of RIGHTEOUSNESS, with HEALING IN HIS WINGS...' i.e. the idea that the Messiah will be exalted like the sun in its strength (i.e. noon); later Chrsitians interpreted the ARISING as RESURRECTION rather than mere EXALTATION of an executed martyr

or the Scroll of the Book of (trito) Isaiah chapter 60:1

'O you that are to announce the Gospel (lit. ‘good news’) to Zion, ARISE and SHINE, for YOUR LIGHT has come up!' &tc. (quoted from another earlier Egyptian Hymn to Amun, the sun-god)

We can see at a glance the Messianic-solar overtones with the earliest Christian communities as they overlap with pagan sun-worship hymns top the Sun as a dying and rising god (every day, and also every year at the solstices).

In the 4th 'canonical gospel' (according to 'John' whoever he was) we see 'Yohanon the Baptist' saying: 'He must increase, but I must decrease' which is a clear cut ‘solar’ reference to the dying and rising sun every day, but also the 'dying and rising sun' every year at the solstices.

Interestingly, perhaps ,the 3rd canonical Greek Gospel (according to 'Luke' , whoever he was) states that 'John the Baptist' and 'Iesous' were born EXACTLY 6-months apart from each other--

Which one can see that again, this 6-month separation (solstices) is a clear back-reference to the pagan Mystery Solar Cults at the time --and even overlapped with the Doctrine of the TWO AWAITED MESSIAHs written so much about in the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e. the one Messiah of Aaron (priestly) and the other SECOND Messiah figure of David (or sometimes 'of Joseph') i.e. a kingly Messiah figure....

Early Christianity eventually adapted some of the solar cult material into their own worship (such as the Mithras Cult, their main competitor in the 1st 4 centuries, whose garb they eventually borrowed too, e.g. the pointy 'Mitre' (bishop’s) hat for the Overseers (lit. epi-skopoi) and the 7 fold sacraments &tc.)

Various Christmas hymns (sung by worshippers thinking of 'Iesous' who ‘rises’ like the sun) even as late as the 18th century in England also betray a solar-sun worship basis in terms of their actual lyrics -- which you can see at a glance --but only if you read the words very closely:

Joy to the WORLD (earth) the Lord (sun god) is come,
Let EARTH receive her KING ! Let every heart, prepare him room (i.e. make way for the sun in the sky at the Birth of the Sun between Dec 22 and Dec 25 when the shadows begin to 'grow again')

And Heaven (the sky) and Nature (vegetation at spring) sing ! While Fields & Floods, Rocks, Hills & Plains (i.e. nature singing at =spring)
Repeat the Sounding Joy ! (=spring)

No more let pains and sorrow grow nor thorns infest the ground (winter)
He comes to make his blessings flow (spring) !"
The words could easily be applied to the sun at Spring time (another key time of year for the Messiah in Christian traditions having to do with sacrificial blood letting = yearly life regeneration).

It certainly would not be a stretch to take modern day Christians to move back to solar-monotheism, which was the pre-Christian pagan ('wiccan') religious millieu before the Jewish Bible was thrust down their throats at the point of a sword…

The motto of early and middle Christianity was and will always be: “IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, MELD IN PAGAN TRADITIONS WITH OURS…SO THAT NO ONE WILL NOTICE…” (‘just make sure they show up at all the church ceremonies and put their cash money in the offering plate…”)






[edit on 3-2-2010 by Sigismundus]

Originally posted by rogerstigers

Originally posted by 297GT
another thing that always bugs me is why non-Christians bother to celebrate the birth of my God's son, and in turn have a free holiday...same goes for Easter.

Hay stop budging and get back to work, you dont deserve the day off at these times, it means nothing to you.

Also stop getting married, its a biblical concept.....!

LOL.. I like this post.

Ok, so I am pagan. I do not celebrate Christ-mass. I celebrate Yule. Although I call it Christmas for the sake of convenience here in the US bible belt.

Easter I celebrate for what it was originally -- a fertility rite and a welcoming of the birth and growth part of the annual cycle. This celebration implies the hieght of spring-time and the germination fo crops, etc.

As for marriage, I could not agree more. Marriage is 100% religious. It should not be a controller by our government, nor condoned or condemed by it. Every marriage should be immediately converted on the books into a civil union. Leave the marriage and hand-fasting ceremonies to the churches.

Some how I dont believe you that you celebrate 'I celebrate Yule' or 'fertility rite' but for the sake of a good story ok, you do....
How do you celebrate? dance around naked in the forest?

Now you do know that the whole ester/pagan thing sole the date and timing from God....


I am 450,000% certain each year after Jesus death untill semi-modern times now one ever called it Easter when they remembered Jesus's sacrifice.

More on the pass over
Festival commemorating the Hebrews' escape from enslavement in Egypt > Jesus came set us free
The Hebrews were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord passed over these homes, hence the term "passover". > Jesus split his blood to attone for us
The entire Jewish populace historically made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem > Now on the temple itself there are so many pointer to Jesus I wont even start....

Passover is a biblical mandated holiday, indicating that it was already old and traditional by the time of the redaction of the Pentateuch > so before the pagans stole it...LOL

...

I can go on...